North East unemployment figures down

Jun 18 2009 by Ben Guy, The Journal

THE number of people out of work in the North East has fallen, according to new figures, but the region still has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.

Numbers released by the Office for National Statistics show that 103,000 people were out of work between February and April, falling from 109,000 for the previous quarter.

But experts at the ONS warned that the number should be treated with some caution, as it is an estimate and may not be accurate.

And the region’s unemployment rate of 8.3% is second only to that of 9.3% in the West Midlands.

Ross Smith, head of policy at the North East Chamber of Commerce gave a cautious welcome to the figures, but pointed out that year-on-year, unemployment is still 15,000 higher compared with last year.

He said: “The figures show some encouraging signs, but it’s far too early to assume that we’ve reached the recovery.

“There are still serious pressures on businesses which could yet hit employment in the future, and we also have to be aware of the impact of the public sector spending cuts on this region in future years.

“However, the fact that we appear to be faring slightly better than the UK average is an indication of the resilience of the North East economy.”

The figures are part of a bleak national picture, which shows that unemployment has soared to a 12-year high of more than 2.2m.

More than 300,000 people were made redundant nationwide in the three months to April, an increase of 36,000 on the previous quarter and the highest total since records began in 1995.